The leader of the opposition "National Unity Party" Benny Gantz appealed on Saturday evening to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and two other opposition leaders to remove the far-right from power and form an interim government that would free all hostages still held by the "Hamas" movement in Gaza, Agence France-Presse reported.
In July, two orthodox Israeli parties withdrew from Benjamin Netanyahu's cabinet, leaving his coalition without an absolute parliamentary majority and dependent on the votes of its far-right allies, who refuse any agreement with "Hamas" for the release of the hostages and call for the continuation of the war in the Gaza Strip.
"I call on Netanyahu, Yair Lapid and Avigdor Lieberman. It is time to form a government to release the prisoners," said Benny Gantz.
Yair Lapid, leader of the largest opposition party "Yesh Atid" ("There is a Future"), has 24 members of parliament in the Knesset (the 120-seat parliament).
Avigdor Lieberman's nationalist party "Israel Beitenu" ("Our Home Israel") has 8 members of parliament, the same number as Gantz's party.
Together with the 32 members of the "Likud" party ("Union") of Netanyahu, the three parties could form a coalition government.
""The duty of our state is above all to save the lives of Jews and all citizens. Every hostage whose life is in danger could be our son, your son", Gantz added during a press conference.
Meanwhile, tens of thousands of Israelis protested again on Saturday night in Tel Aviv demanding an agreement to release the hostages and an end to the war in Gaza.
Palestinian witnesses reported seeing Israeli soldiers in Gaza City, DPA reported. The agency notes that this comes after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu approved a plan for a military takeover of the metropolis, which is home to 1 million people.
According to reports, soldiers were spotted in the Sabra neighborhood of Gaza City, mainly near a building that used to house a school.
When asked for comment, the Israeli military said it did not disclose information about the positions of its soldiers, DPA reports.
Israel said it planned to relocate about 1 million residents of the city before the offensive, which was expected to begin in September at the earliest. However, Israeli troops appear to have already entered the outskirts of the coastal city.
Israeli ground troops have been deployed in Sabra earlier in the war, which was sparked by Hamas attacks on Israel in October 2023.
Irish President Michael Higgins has warned that the Gaza conflict is in the "field of unaccountability", describing it as a "tragic period" in world history, PA Media reported. and DPA.
In an interview with RTE Radio 1, Higgins warned that "impunity is the most dangerous threat to democracy".
We are in an extraordinary situation where three members of the (Israeli) government are clearly interested in illegal actions but have no concern for international law, the head of state stressed.
You cannot use the genocide that is taking place (in Gaza) as a distraction from neglected political issues that have been neglected for so long. I think the most important thing is the global affirmation of the importance of the General Assembly, President Higgins added.
On Friday, the findings of a food security report showed that nearly a quarter of the Palestinians in the enclave, or 514,000 people, are experiencing hunger, and that number is expected to rise to 641,000 by the end of September.
Israel dismissed the report as "inaccurate and biased", while the military body that coordinates humanitarian aid deliveries to the enclave said the system's study was based on "partial data provided by the terrorist organization "Hamas".
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres described the situation in the Gaza Strip as "a man-made disaster" after the international food security system officially declared famine for the first time. in parts of the Palestinian enclave.